GeorgeGeorgeGeorge of the Farmyard
by GrumpyMagrat
Summary: Another "Farm Series" story. It is set pre-Thunderbirds. While visiting Grandma for the summer, Virgil must face his fear.


Disclaimer: We do not own the Thunderbirds. Neither have we made any money off this story.

Author's Note: This is another story in our "Farm Series". It is set pre-Thunderbirds.

George…George…George of the Farmyard

Title set to the tune of "George of the Jungle"

By: GrumpyMargrat and Magratconvert

Almost fifteen year old Virgil stretched and sighed in relaxation as he forced the sleep from his brain. He could hear the rain melodiously tapping against the window of the bedroom that he shared with his brothers, Scott and John. He grinned as he looked at his still sleeping brothers. Scott lay with his back to the window with his arm slung over the top of his head, partially hiding his eyes. John was curled up with just the top of his head peeking out from under the sheet and light blanket. It was a rare occasion that he got a chance to observe his brothers like this. Normally it was Virgil who was the last to wake up, only leaving his bed at the threat of missing breakfast, which to a growing teenage boy would be unthinkable. Today, however, was different. This was his first morning at the farm for the summer. His brothers had been here for almost a month, but he had a special three week summer engineering course for advanced high school students. He debated about taking advantage of the situation and dousing his sleeping siblings with a cup of cold water. He decided against it, figuring that the payback would negate any pleasure that he would get.

Virgil quietly slipped from his bed and, after taking a shower, made his way down to the kitchen. As he figured, his grandmother was already there, busy with breakfast preparations.

She looked up from the oranges that she was squeezing into juice when he entered the room. "Well, isn't this a surprise. Definitely not the one I figured to be up this early."

Virgil shrugged. "Too excited to sleep, I guess. It's nice to finally be here."

"But I thought you were excited to go to that engineering class."

"Oh, I was, really, and I enjoyed it a lot, but it was too quiet at home with just dad. He spent most of the evenings working in his study. Don't tell them, but I really came to miss my brothers."

"Don't worry. It'll be our little secret."

Virgil smiled. "Thanks. Now, what can I do to help?"

"You can tell me how you want your eggs."

"Scrambled, please. I have never found anyone who could make scrambled eggs as good as you. They've got a great buttery flavor, but they're light as air, not greasy. What's your secret?"

Grandma gave him a mischievous look. Using a bad Russian accent, she replied, "If I told you, I vould haf to kill you."

Virgil laughed. "What the heck was that?"

"It was my Russian accent."

"I hate to break this to you, but that didn't sound Russian."

"Well, I didn't say it was a _good_ Russian accent." With another accent, she continued. "Tally ho, me British accent taint much butter…"

"Grandma, you're a hoot. I don't know where you get this stuff."

"Mainly from movies and TV. Lord knows, I've never been anywhere in Europe to hear the accents for myself."

"You should get Dad to take you sometime."

"Now that's an idea. Maybe I can convince him to take the family over Christmas or spring break, one last hurrah before Scott graduates next spring."

Virgil snorted a bit. "I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you."

"Don't you get snippy, young man. He's your father and deserves your respect."

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that. I do respect him, really, I do, and I'm proud of him. He's done a lot in his lifetime: the Air Force, joining NASA, going to the moon, building a wildly successful business from scratch. I just wish he didn't have to work all the time."

"Don't forget raising five wonderful sons." Grandma shook her head. "As far as his working all the time…Unfortunately, it's become a bad habit. He had to work so hard to get his company up and running that even now when his business is doing well enough to hire an assistant, he hasn't. He still likes to do things himself. It's all part of his 'hands on' approach."

About this time, three more Tracy brothers entered the kitchen. "Well, well, well," Scott said. "It's a miracle. Virgil was the first one up. If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have believed it."

Virgil rolled his eyes. "Ha, ha. You're so funny. Where's John?"

"He's in the shower. So what did get you out of bed so early?"

"I guess the thought of Grandma's scrambled eggs pulled me from slumber land."

"I didn't think…" Gordon started in only to be interrupted by Grandma.

"All right boys, that's enough. Scott, could you cut the grapefruit. Gordon, start the toast. Alan, sweetie, could you set the table for me?"

"Grandma," Virgil practically whined. "When I ask, you said there was nothing to do. I could've done any of this stuff."

Grandma gave his cheek a pinch. "I know, dear, but for your first meal home I wanted you just to sit back and enjoy."

"But…"

"No buts…Grandma's prerogative."

"Yes, ma'am."

While Grandma's back was turned to the group, Alan stuck his tongue out at Virgil. At that moment, John entered the room. "I saw that." Alan went back to innocently setting the table.

"Saw what?" Grandma questioned.

"Nothing" Virgil supplied.

John shrugged. He figured that if Virgil didn't care, it didn't matter to him. "Hey Grandma, since it's raining, can we go to the mall after you drop Scott off at work?"

"Now, you should know by now, there are always chores to do around here rain or shine."

"But there's a new astronomy book that I want to get. I just got the money together for it. Please, Grandma? It won't take too long." John gave her a pleading, puppy dog looking face.

Grandma laughed. "John Glenn Tracy, you are incorrigible. All right, I'll take you."

"Suck up," Gordon muttered.

John thought about making a comment about "working the system", but he figured that wouldn't go over well with Grandma. So, he went with a simple, "What can I say? Grandma loves me."

"Can we go too?" Alan asked

"Yeah, can we?" Gordon chimed in.

"And why do you want to go?" Scott snickered. "You got a prank up your sleeve that you need supplies for?"

"No, I just want to go."

"I don't trust you."

"That makes you a wise man," John added.

"Hey…" Gordon started indignantly.

"All right, boys," Grandma put a stop to the impending argument. "You can all go, but you'll only have one hour there."

"Here John," Scott said. "Take over for me so I can grab a quick shower. After all, I am the one who has to go to work."

"Breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes," Grandma warned him.

Scott gave her a peck on the cheek as he moved towards the door. "I'll be back in ten."

Breakfast was a friendly but loud affair. Virgil savored the light and buttery eggs, the crisp bacon and spicy sausage, the fried potatoes done just right, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, a steaming bowl of Cream of Wheat, the tart grapefruit sweetened with just a hint of sugar. Fresh squeezed orange juice and ice cold milk rounded out the meal with Grandma and Scott each having a cup of coffee too. It was such a difference from the bowls of cold cereal that he usually grabbed on his way out the door to class.

The conversation consisted of questions being tossed back and forth about Virgil's engineering program and what the other four have been doing over the last few weeks. Virgil's inwardly smirked at the tale of Scott's latest failed dating attempt. He laughed out loud at Alan and Gordon's latest antics. It felt so good to be back in this camaraderie. Once they were done eating, they started clearing the table.

"Grandma, can I bring the car up from the garage?" Virgil asked.

"I can do it," John spoke up. "I was going to ask if I could drive anyhow. I need to get my time in if I want my actual license in October."

"You can drive into town. I can't get my temps yet. So, I can only drive here on the property."

Scott put in his own two cents. "Maybe I wanted to drive. After all, I actually have a license."

Grandma shook her head. "Here it is boys. Virgil's right. He can only drive out here. So he brings the car up. John, you drive us into town. And Scott, you just have to give your brothers a chance to practice. So, live with it."

Virgil knew better than to press his luck by showing any outward pleasure at his older brothers being put in their places by Grandma. "Great, I'll go get the car now." He grabbed the keys and headed out the front door.

Grandma finished up in the kitchen. She started the dishwasher and wiped down the table and cabinets. She then got her hat and sweater out of the closet and waited.

Alan and Gordon playfully wrestled around the family room. They were just happy at the chance to get out of the house on a rainy day.

Scott spent a few minutes in front of the mirror making sure that his hair was all in place and that his overall appearance was neat. He hadn't told anyone, especially after the earlier summer fiasco, but there was a new girl working at the store who had caught his eye. He grabbed his ID badge and headed to the kitchen for the lunch he had packed the night before.

John also spent some time double checking his appearance. He didn't have any particular girl that he was trying to impress, but you never know who you could meet at the mall. He made sure that his money and temporary license was in his wallet and then joined the rest of the family.

"Where's Virg?" John asked.

Scott shook his head. "Don't know. He should've had the car up here by now."

"He probably hit the side of the door on the way out of the garage," Gordon smirked.

"Yeah, and he's too afraid to tell," Alan added.

"Now, let's not think the worst," Grandma said. "I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for the delay."

"Yeah," Scott began. "Just wait until you get your temps. You'll see that it's not that easy to drive. It takes a lot of practice and concentration." He paused for a moment, and then continued. "Although, maybe I should go check on him, if we delay too much, I'll be late for work."

Grandma nodded. Scott headed across the yard where the detached garage sat about sixty feet from the house. As he rounded the empty laundry line, he could see that the garage door was open, but the car wasn't running. He entered through the door and was shocked to find Virgil sitting on top of the car. "What in the world?"

Virgil turned at the sound of his brother's voice. "Scott, thank God. I've been calling for help, but nobody's heard me."

Confusion reigned on Scott's face. "What are you doing on _top_ of the car?"

"There was a snake."

Scott had to hold in his laughter. He knew how his brother felt about snakes, but this reaction was a bit extreme. "All right, I'm here to save you. Climb on down."

Virgil shook his head. "No, it's still here."

Scott glanced around. The building was old with holes that had only been roughly patched. It would be easy for a snake to get in and back out again since he didn't see one. "I don't see it. I'm sure it's gone."

Virgil shook his head stubbornly. "No."

"No? What do you mean, no? You can't sit on top of the car forever."

"Just cuz you don't see it doesn't mean that it's gone."

Scott sighed in exasperation. "How am I supposed to prove it's gone? I don't see it. _You_ don't see it. What else do you want? Now come down from there."

"I can't. I'm too scared."

"For crying out loud," Scott muttered rolling his eyes. "Enough is enough, Virge. I'm pulling this car up to the house. Your choice is to either get down off the car or ride on top of it."

"I'll stay on top."

Scott's eyebrows shot up. "You're kidding me, right?"

Virgil again stubbornly shook his head.

"Fine, give me the keys."

"I dropped them."

This time Scott did nothing to keep the irritation out of his voice. "Of all the stupid, immature, senseless, idiotic things to do…" He bent down looking for the keys. He spotted them just under the car. As he reached for them, he also spotted the snake. It was a harmless hognose. He straightened up. "All right, Virgil. The snake is under the car. I'll pull the car out of the garage and stop. _You_ will climb down and get in. I'm not about to suffer Grandma's wrath from you riding on top of the car in the rain all the way to the house just because of your irrational phobia."

Scott did just that and when the car stopped outside the door, Virgil scrambled down and climbed in. "Thanks, Scott." Breathing heavily, he wiped the rain from his face.

Scott rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Let's get going." They pulled up to the house and they jockeyed places as the rest of the family climbed in.

"What took so long?" John asked.

"Virge saw a snake. He was sitting on top of the car when I found him."

Laughter erupted from the Tracy brothers. "A bit extreme there, isn't it, Virge?" Gordon snickered.

"Oh, shut up!" Virgil replied hostilely.

"I don't like that tone," Grandma chastised. Virgil made a face at Gordon that Grandma caught in her peripheral vision. "Don't take an attitude young man, I won't put up with it."

"But they all have things they're afraid of."

"And you like to tease them about it. If you're going to dish it out, you'd better be able to take it."

"Yes, ma'am," Virgil answered, but his tome still implied that he wasn't very happy about it.

Grandma gave him a look telling him that the discussion was over and he'd better straighten up.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Alan picked up the conversation. "Was it George?"

"I didn't get a real good look at it, but it might have been," Scott answered.

"It doesn't really matter," John joined in. "Virgil's gonna have to get over his fear and deal with him."

"Who's George?" Virgil wanted to know.

"He's Grandma's pet snake," Gordon replied.

Grandma shook her head. "I do _not_ have a pet snake."

"Okay, so it's the snake that has adopted you," Scott supplied.

"You boys are exaggerating."

Virgil thought about pressing more but decided that his brothers were just trying to get a rise out of him, and he refused to give into them. After all, Grandma said they were exaggerating. She wouldn't steer him wrong. He knew that for sure. That is until two days later.

The morning sun shone through the bedroom window and woke Virgil up. Even though it was his third morning at the farm, it was the first time he saw the bright sun. Glad that the rain had finally moved out of the area, he smiled as he looked around the room. His brothers' beds were both empty and neatly made. Things were back to normal. After making his own bed, he showered and made his way to the breakfast table. The rest of the family was already there.

"Well, well, lookie there. The dead walks." Scott teased.

"Ha, ha," Virgil replied. "What can I do? I'm starving."

"So what else is new? Here set the table." John handed his a stack of plates.

In a short while the family was sitting down to a breakfast of pancakes, topped with either syrup or fruit, bacon and sausage, mixed fruit salad, milk and juice. Scott once again had coffee, but this morning Grandma had opted for tea, and John joined her for a cup.

During the meal, Grandma gave out the daily chore assignments. Virgil's job for the morning was to clean out the horse stalls. It wasn't the most pleasant job. All the boys hated the job, but Grandma was good about rotating it between the brothers.

Once the meal was over and the table was cleared, Virgil slipped on his work boots. He met John and Gordon by the back door. Their jobs for the day were to hoe the green bean patch. He was a bit surprised that they were still in the house since they already had their work boots on. "What's up guys?"

"We need to show you something," John said.

Gordon smiled widely. "Yeah, you're going to love this." Opening the door, he motioned for Virgil to step out with him. "Come this way."

Virgil was leery of his younger brother. When he had that look on his face, he was never up to any good. He cautiously stepped through the door. It wasn't until he reached the steps that he saw it…a _snake_. It lay sunning itself on the concrete patio block about six feet from the steps. Virgil instinctively took a step back only to bump into his brothers.

John rested a hand on Virgil's shoulder. "Virge, we'd like you to meet George."

Virgil tried to pull away. "This isn't funny, and you guys are being mean to pull something like this. I'm surprised at you, John."

Gordon cocked an eyebrow. "But you're not surprised at me?"

"I know you too well."

John snickered. "He's got you there, and, Virge, normally I'd agree with you, but unfortunately, this isn't a joke."

"But Grandma said…" Virgil began a bit shell shocked. "I can't believe that she would lie to me.

"I know what Grandma said, but I don't think she meant to lie. She either didn't want to upset you, or she just really doesn't realize how often he's here."

Virgil swallowed hard. "And that is…"

"Every sunny morning," Gordon jumped in. "He lies out there waiting for Grandma. Then he follows her to wherever she's working that morning."

"Does he follow her all day?"

Gordon shook his head. "He normally slithers off shortly before lunch. We won't see him again until the next sunny morning."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

John calmly explained. "Because with George here on a regular basis, you're going to have to somehow get a handle on your fears. Grandma may be sympathetic to your fears, but she is _not _going to put up with scenes like the other day for very long."

"I'm not sure I can."

"We'll help you."

"How?"

John looped his arm through Virgil's. "For starters, I'm going to help you _calmly_ walk by him this morning. We'll keep after it until you finally feel comfortable with him."

The two brothers moved down the porch steps. The closer they got to the snake, the more Virgil tried to run, but John tightened his grip on his arm and made him walk normally. They got to about two feet of the snake before John finally turned them towards the barn.

"See that wasn't so bad," John said.

Virgil blew out a breath. "Easy for you to say. Maybe the next time there's a storm, I'll tie you to a chair out in the middle of the yard."

John grinned and patted Virgil's back. "You'll have to catch me first. Well, have fun with the stalls. See you later."

Virgil shook his head. He was angry with his brothers for forcing him to confront his fears, but at the same time was glad that they weren't leaving him to handle it alone. Brothers…what an oxymoron.

It took two weeks of being walked around George for Virgil to get comfortable doing it by himself. By the end of the summer he had gotten so used of him that he only jumped slightly when he would see other snakes in the field. He was even able to handle the fake, but realistic looking snake that Gordon had put in his bed without running, screaming from the room. When all was said and done, and he would never admit it to _anyone_, he found himself missing George when they moved back to the city for the school year. That was the only summer that George was around, but Virgil felt like he was a better person for having known him.

The End

_Author's note:_ Okay folks, we hope you enjoyed this story. It's been a while since we posted anything. We have a story that we're working on, but it's a long one, that we won't post until it is finished. So we decided to take a break and do this one quick.

Again, like the other farm stories, this is based on true events. (Two to be exact) As a young girl, growing up on the farm, Grumpy's mother did have for one season a snake that followed her around the farm. Grumpy also was the scaredy-cat on top of the car. Unfortunately, she wasn't fifteen. For her sake, we'll refrain from naming the age.

We want to thank our beta, Lillehafrue, for her work and encouragement. She was also the one who came up with the idea for the title. It was much better than the original one. So THANK YOU Lille.


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